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WAN X.25
X.25 network diagram.
X.25 is an ITU-T standard protocol suite for packet switched wide
area network (WAN) communication. An X.25 WAN consists of
packet-switching exchange (PSE) nodes as the networking hardware,
and leased lines, Plain old telephone service connections or ISDN
connections as physical links. X.25 is a family of protocols that was
used especially during the 1980s by telecommunications companies
and in financial transaction systems such as automated teller
machines. X.25 was originally defined by the International Telegraph
and Telephone Consultative Committee (CCITT, now ITU-T) in a
series of drafts[1] and finalized in a publication known as The Orange
Book in 1976.[2]
X.25 is today to a large extent replaced by less complex protocols,
especially the Internet protocol (IP) although some telephone
operators offer X.25-based communication via the signaling (D)
channel of ISDN lines.
Contents
[hide]
• 1 History
• 2 Architecture
○ 2.1 Relation to the OSI Reference Model
○ 2.2 User device support
○ 2.3 Error control
• 3 Addressing and virtual circuits
• 4 Billing
• 5 X.25 packet types
• 6 X.25 details
○ 6.1 X.25 facilities
○ 6.2 X.25 protocol versions
• 7 See also
• 8 References
• 9 Further reading
• 10 External links
History
X.25 is one of the oldest packet-switched services available. It was
developed before the OSI Reference Model.[3] The protocol suite is
designed as three conceptual layers, which correspond closely to the
lower three layers of the seven-layer OSI model.[4] It also supports
functionality not found in the OSI Network Layer.[5][6]
X.25 was developed in the ITU-T (formerly CCITT) Study Group VII
based upon a number of emerging data network projects. Various
updates and additions were worked into the standard, eventually
recorded in the ITU series of technical books describing the
telecommunication systems. These books were published every fourth
year with different-colored covers. The X.25 specification is only part
of the larger set of X-Series[7] specifications on public data networks.
[8]
The Public data network was the common name given to the
international collection of X.25 providers. Their combined network
had large global coverage during the 1980s and into the 1990s.[9]
Publicly-accessible X.25 networks (Compuserve, Tymnet, Euronet,
PSS, and Telenet) were set up in most countries during the 1970s and
80s, to lower the cost of accessing various online services.
Beginning in the early 1990s in North America, use of X.25 networks
(predominated by Telenet and Tymnet)[10] began being replaced with
Frame Relay service offered by national telephone companies.[11]
X.25 networks are still in use throughout the world. A variant called
AX.25 is also used widely by amateur packet radio. Racal Paknet,
now known as Widanet, is still in operation in many regions of the
world, running on an X.25 protocol base. In some countries, like The
Netherlands or Germany, it is possible to use a stripped version of
X.25 via the D-channel of an ISDN-2 (or ISDN BRI) connection for
low volume applications such as point-of-sale terminals; but, the
future of this service in The Netherlands is uncertain. Additionally
X.25 is still under heavy use in the aeronautical business (especially
in the Asian region) even though a transition to modern protocols like
X.400 is without option as X.25 hardware gets rare and costly.
[edit] Architecture
The general concept of X.25 was to create a universal and global
packet-switched network. Much of the X.25 system is a description of
the rigorous error correction needed to achieve this, as well as more
efficient sharing of capital-intensive physical resources.
The X.25 specification defines only the interface between a subscriber
(DTE) and an X.25 network (DCE). X.75, a very similar protocol to
X.25, defines the interface between two X.25 networks to allow
connections to traverse two or more networks. X.25 does not specify
how the network operates internally—many X.25 network
implementations used something very similar to X.25 or X.75
internally, but others used quite different protocols internally. The
ISO equivalent protocol to X.25, ISO 8208, is compatible with X.25,
but additionally includes provision for two X.25 DTEs to be directly
connected to each other with no network in between. By separating
the Packet-Layer Protocol, ISO 8208 permits operation over
additional networks such as ISO 8802 LLC2 (ISO LAN) and the OSI
data link layer.[12]
X.25 originally defined three basic protocol levels or architectural
layers. In the original specifications these were referred to as levels
and also had a level number, whereas all ITU-T X.25
recommendations and ISO 8208 standards released after 1984 refer to
them as layers.[13] The layer numbers were dropped to avoid confusion
with the OSI Model layers.[1]
• Physical layer: This layer specifies the physical, electrical,
functional and procedural characteristics to control the physical
link between a DTE and a DCE. Common implementations use
X.21, EIA-232, EIA-449 or other serial protocols.
• Data link layer: The data link layer consists of the link access
procedure for data interchange on the link between a DTE and a
DCE. In its implementation, the Link Access Procedure,
Balanced (LAPB) is a data link protocol that manages a
communication session and controls the packet framing. It is a
bit-oriented protocol that provides error correction and orderly
delivery.
• Packet layer: This layer defined a packet-layer protocol for
exchanging control and user data packets to form a packet-
switching network based on virtual circuits.
The X.25 model was based on the traditional telephony concept of
establishing reliable circuits through a shared network, but using
software to create "virtual calls" through the network. These calls
interconnect "data terminal equipment" (DTE) providing endpoints to
users, which looked like point-to-point connections. Each endpoint
can establish many separate virtual calls to different endpoints.
For a brief period, the specification also included a connectionless
datagram service, but this was dropped in the next revision. The "fast
select with restricted response facility" is intermediate between full
call establishment and connectionless communication. It is widely
used in query-response transaction applications involving a single
request and response limited to 128 bytes of data carried each way.
The data is carried in an extended call request packet and the response
is carried in an extended field of the call reject packet, with a
connection never being fully established.
Closely related to the X.25 protocol are the protocols to connect
asynchronous devices (such as dumb terminals and printers) to an
X.25 network: X.3, X.28 and X.29. This functionality was performed
using a Packet Assembler/Disassembler or PAD (also known as a
Triple-X device, referring to the three protocols used).
Relation to the OSI Reference Model
Although X.25 predates the OSI Reference Model (OSIRM), the
Physical Layer of the OSI model corresponds to the X.25 physical
layer, the Data Link Layer to the X.25 data link layer, and the
Network Layer to the X.25 packet layer.[14] The X.25 data link layer,
LAPB, provides a reliable data path across a data link (or multiple
parallel data links, multilink) which may not be reliable itself. The
X.25 packet layer, provides the virtual call mechanisms, running over
X.25 LAPB. The packet layer includes mechanisms to maintain
virtual calls and to signal data errors in the event that the data link
layer cannot recover from data transmission errors. All but the earliest
versions of X.25 include facilities[15] which provide for OSI network
layer Addressing (NSAP addressing, see below)[16].
User device support
Packet Type DCE -> DTE DTE -> DCE Service VC PVC
Call setup and
Incoming Call Call Request X
Clearing
Call Connected Call Accepted X
Clear Indication Clear Request X
Clear Clear X
Confirmation Confirmation
Data and
Data Data X X
Interrupt
Interrupt Interrupt X X
Interrupt Interrupt
X X
Confirmation Confirmation
Flow Control
RR RR X X
and Reset
RNR RNR X X
REJ REJ X X
Reset Indication Reset Request X X
Reset Reset
X X
Confirmation Confirmation
Restart Restart Indication Restart Request X
Restart Restart
X
Confirmation Confirmation
Diagnostic Diagnostic X
Registration Registration
Registration X
Confirmation Request
X.25 details
The network may allow the selection of the maximal length in range
16 to 4096 octets (2n values only) per virtual circuit by negotiation as
part of the call setup procedure. The maximal length may be different
at the two ends of the virtual circuit.
• Data terminal equipment constructs control packets which are
encapsulated into data packets. The packets are sent to the data
circuit-terminating equipment, using LAPB Protocol.
• Data circuit-terminating equipment strips the layer-2 headers in
order to encapsulate packets to the internal network protocol.
X.25 facilities
X.25 provides a set of user facilities defined and described in ITU-T
Recommendation X.2 . The X.2 user facilities fall into five categories:
• essential facilities;
• additional facilities;
• conditional facilities;
• mandatory facilities; and,
• optional facilities.
X.25 also provides X.25 and ITU-T specified DTE optional user
facilities defined and described in ITU-T Recommendation X.7 . The
X.7 optional user facilities fall into four categories of user facilities
that require:
• subscription only;
• subscription followed by dynamic invocation;
• subscription or dynamic invocation; and,
• dynamic invocation only.
X.25 protocol versions
The CCITT/ITU-T versions of the protocol specifications are for
Public Data Networks (PDN). The ISO/IEC versions address
additional features for private networks (e.g. Local Area Networks
(LAN) use) while maintaining compatibility with the CCITT/ITU-T
specifications.
The user facilities and other features supported by each version of
X.25 and ISO/IEC 8208 have varied from edition to edition. Several
major protocol versions of X.25 exist:
• CCITT Recommendation X.25 (1976) Orange Book
• CCITT Recommendation X.25 (1980) Yellow Book
• CCITT Recommendation X.25 (1984) Red Book
• CCITT Recommendation X.25 (1988) Blue Book
• ITU-T Recommendation X.25 (1993) White Book
• ITU-T Recommendation X.25 (1996) Grey Book
The X.25 Recommendation allows many options for each network to
choose when deciding which features to support and how certain
operations are performed. This means each network needs to publish
its own document giving the specification of its X.25 implementation,
and most networks required DTE appliance manufacturers to
undertake protocol conformance testing, which included testing for
strict adherence and enforcement of their network specific options.
(Network operators were particularly concerned about the possibility
of a badly behaving or misconfigured DTE appliance taking out parts
of the network and affecting other subscribers.) Therefore,
subscriber's DTE appliances have to be configured to match the
specification of the particular network to which they are connecting.
Most of these were sufficiently different to prevent interworking if the
subscriber didn't configure their appliance correctly or the appliance
manufacturer didn't include specific support for that network. In spite
of protocol conformance testing, this often lead to interworking
problems when initially attaching an appliance to a network. This is in
stark contrast to the Robustness Principle employed in the Internet
Protocol family.
Public networks were adopters of the earlier protocol versions, but
reluctant to upgrade fearing subscriber compatibility issues and
struggling to justify the expense. Most public networks ended up
running something roughly on a parity with X.25 (1980) with some
parts of X.25 (1984). Private networks started using X.25 later and
were more likely to take upgrades, and many of those operated
something nearer to X.25 (1984) with a few X.25 (1988) features. By
about 1990, X.25 development by all the major network switch
vendors had ceased, and there were no significant implementations of
the 1993 and 1996 protocol versions.
In addition to the CCITT/ITU-T versions of the protocol, four editions
of ISO/IEC 8208 exist:
• ISO/IEC 8208 : 1987, First Edition, compatible with X.25
(1980) and (1984)
• ISO/IEC 8208 : 1990, Second Edition, compatible with 1st Ed.
and X.25 (1988).
• ISO/IEC 8208 : 1995, Third Edition, compatible with 2nd Ed.
and X.25 (1993).
• ISO/IEC 8208 : 2000, Fourth Edition, compatible with 3rd Ed.
and X.25 (1996).
• OSI protocol suite
• Packet switched network - protocols related to X.25
• DATAPAC - Canadian variant of X.25 offered by Bell Canada
• XOT - X.25 Over TCP : X25 encapsulation on TCPIP networks.
References
a b
1. ^ CCITT, Study Group VII, Draft Recommendation X-25,
March 1976
2. ^ History of X.25, CCITT Plenary Assemblies and Book Colors
3. ^ (Friend 1988, p. 242)
4. ^ (Friend 1988, p. 243)
5. ^ ITU-T Recommendation X.28.
6. ^ ITU-T Recommendation X.3.
7. ^ X-Series recommendations